VENDOR WRITING

The Eagles- Still Flying High In Spite Of The Death Of Glenn Frey

BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Seeing Garth Brooks at Nissan Stadium was a highlight of the year for me, I owe to my customers without a doubt. I thought nothing could ever compare to that.

However, the next day some of my fellow music lovers asked who I’d like to see next. Which acts are on my bucket list? At first, I hesitated but finally said The Eagles. (They were my ex husband’s favorite band. He is dead now, and I wanted to see them in his memory. He would’ve turned 61 on April 28, 2022. It may sound strange, but we remained close over the years — it happens when you have kids together.)

When we were married, I secretly got tickets to see them at Starwood Amphitheater for the Hell Freezes Over tour in April of ‘95. (I achieved rock star status with that move!) He was SO excited!

Within a week, 20 people had donated a total of $92.50 for me to see the show!

Again, it wasn’t quite enough for a ticket, but I put a little with it, and once again I saw a GREAT show!

As I tried to locate my seat inside Bridgestone Arena, the staff noticed my seat was NOT wheelchair accessible and asked if I was alone. When I said yes, they immediately gave me an “upgrade” and I was taken to a much better seat, no longer in the nosebleed seats. That was pretty cool!

Once there, I had the pleasure of meeting a mother/daughter duo Patty (57) and Rita (86) from Birmingham, Ala. who have seen The Eagles 15 times! I asked if they’d been fans of The Eagles since the early days. Rita then spoke up and said, “No, only since the Hell Freezes Over tour in the ‘90s.” She went on to say, “Between you and me I’m glad it’s still froze over!”

At this point, Tim (32) from Louisville, Ky. chimed in and said, “Man, I thought I’d seen them a lot, but I’ve only seen them seven times.”

The show then began with a man placing a vinyl copy of Hotel California on a turntable. As the record started to spin, the band began to play the signature song to an enthusiastic crowd. (As I listened to the lyrics of that song, I couldn’t help but think how well the words of this song fit the pandemic lockdown, “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”) They continued to play the album in its entirety only stopping briefly for a lady dressed in black (think Elvira mistress of the dark) to flip the record from side A to side B. The show included flashing lights and ever changing graphics to fit the music in the background.

When they finished, they introduced The Nashville Recording Orchestra as well as the Fisk Jubilee Singers! Now that’s what I call backup! No wonder the music sounded heavenly.

Afterwards Don Henley told the audience, “We’re going to take a short break and then we’re going to come back and play everything else we know.” And that’s pretty much what they did!

The group began the next portion of the show with an a cappella performance of “7 Bridges Road.” It was awesome!

That was followed by a few classics, “Take It Easy,” “One of These Nights,” “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” and “Witchy Woman.”

At this point, one of them said, “We’re happy to be here, but at our age we’re just happy to be anywhere.” (The original band members Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmidt are all in their 70’s.)

After “local boy” Vince Gill is introduced, the crowd erupts to an almost deafening level and the audience was told to, “Take it easy, y’all are scaring him.”

I must admit, I wondered how it would sound with him covering Glenn Frey’s part especially since Deacon Frey is no longer touring with the band, but he handled it like a pro. His voice blended with the others so well it was as if he’d always been a part of the band.

They went on to sing another string of their hits, “Take It To The Limit,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “In the City,” “I Can’t Tell You Why,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” and, “Those Shoes,” (which happened to be Tim’s favorite songand one I didn’t know.)

After getting the crowd riled up and eager to participate in the show, Joe Walsh launched into, “Life’s Been Good,” which was followed by “Already Gone,” and “Funk 49.” The instrumentals on this song were phenomenal!

For an encore, the group performed, “Rocky Mountain Way” with Joe Walsh once again taking the lead. Next up was “Desperado,” (my ex’s favorite song and if I may say so, somewhat autobiographical.)

Rounding out the night was, “The Boys of Summer.”

Before the final song the audience was reminded that “Take It Easy” was released 50 years ago, on May 1, 1972, just two days away. The band thanked the crowd for all those wonderful years and they closed out the show with “Best of My Love” with the crowd on its feet singing along to every word.

After playing more than three hours, the concert came to an end with an extended standing ovation.

As I was getting ready to leave, Rita said, “Did you enjoy the show, dear?” I said yes, and asked if this was the end of their road trip? She said, “Oh Lord, I hope not! We still have tickets for the Salt Lake City, Ut. and Reno, Nev. shows!” (And between you and me, I can see them dusting off their passports to see The Eagles in the Netherlands, the UK, or Ireland!) What a pair, they were something else.

As for Tim, I owe him a BIG thank you! He helped me with the songs I didn’t know (there were three or four). I’m hoping he got to see The Eagles in his hometown of Louisville, Ky. on May 12.

It is my hope that as you read this you feel like you were there in the audience, part of the show. Feel free to let me know how I did.

The Generosity of People

BY WILLIAM B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

First of all I want to talk about the generosity of my church, Ethos Church. When I thought I was down and hurting pain wise or food wise or anything, my church just out of the blue came to me with some kind of an aid. Like food, money or clothing. They would just say, “what do you need Mr. B?” Most of the time I would say I don’t need anything and then they would say, “What do you need man?” So, they give me what I asked for. Last Christmas, they gave me a good donation. I call them my church family. Whether you adopted me, or I adopted you, we’re family.

Generosity of the church members has been so good over the past years. After I was there for two weeks, I asked them to baptize me. Not just to be baptized in the name of the Lord, but to renew my vows. I’ve been baptized many times, but I really felt something this time.

I love this church very, very much. Of the members got this chair for me because my other chair broke down completely. They could not fix it. So the generosity of my church got that done for me. In one day! And that’s a lot to get done in one day.

There are also people out there who are generous when I’m out there selling my newspapers and playing my music. There is people who blows my mind who just come up and give me a donation. Homeless people even insist on giving me donations. I say, “you’re homeless you need this more than I do.” But they tell me I light up their life and brighten their day. They say you’re playing oldies and then you’re playing spoons. That’s an old fad that I’m trying to bring back strong. I’ve asked my church to let me teach spoon playing and I’m waiting to hear about that.

I had a nervous breakdown at the age of 7 years old because my brother got murdered when I was 6 and it took a year to actually hit me. When I turned 8, I seen this guy named Danny playing the spoons and I said, “Man, what are you doing?” And he said, “I’m playing the spoons. Would you like to play?” And I said, “I don’t know how.” And he said, “I’ll teach you.” And he taught me. He taught me one way and I developed different style as I got older. Now I’ve got four sets of spoons here that make different sounds.

My momma was a singer, so I’ve been singing since I was 3 years old. I was shaking like Elvis and doing his songs. I think I was born to be a show off, or a show person. Because I’ve always been outspoken. I’ve always been a packrat and I’ve always been, you know, really hyper for one thing. So, I’ve always been a go-getter.

The people on the street coming that’s coming in and out of Nashville who walk down the street and hear me play, they might not stop that very day, but if they have around for a while, they’ll come back to see me.

I want to say that The Contributor has been one of the best things that’s happened to me in my life. If I hadn’t found The Contributor through a friend, I’d probably be either dead or back in prison. It gives me the opportunity to play my music, which I’ve always wanted to do, and it gave me the opportunity to finally get clean off drugs and alcohol. Fifteen years now. All these things coming to my head I never dreamed I can do. I never dreamed I could dictate a story like this. That’s a gift I think the Lord gave me.

Back to generosity. Number one is my church. Number two is Room in the Inn because I’ve been there eight years. And Number 3 is The Contributor. The Contributor has given me quite a bit. They’ve given me food cards to help me through the pandemic. We had meals where we could talk and we could come up with suggestions.

I wish The Contributor would find a way to do some videos that we could sell with the papers. I really think some of these vendors have a lot of talent. I’ve been wanting to try and get a band together for the last few years. If anyone is interested in trying out for a bad, I have several instruments of different kinds, even a trombone!

I just want to say at the end of this story, I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to get off drugs, giving a place to live at RITI, giving me a church that I fell in love with. I was like a boll weevil looking for a church home, and I found that church home.